The Plant City Colts were set to kick off their season this past Saturday against the Lakeland Storm, a welcome return for the youth football program after their 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19.
The Colts were far from the only team within the Mid Florida Football Cheer Conference to cancel their season last year, with several other organizations opting to suspend operations as well. But after a successful jamboree the weekend prior, all signs were pointing toward a safe and smooth return to play.
But excitement for the new season quickly turned to anguish as the Colts’ opening weekend games were subsequently cancelled due to positive tests within both organizations. Colts’ president Angelo Murray received a phone call last week informing him of positive tests within Lakeland’s program, forcing them to halt activity, and shortly after he began receiving calls regarding positive tests within Plant City’s organization which became cause for the Colts to follow suit.
“We had some positive tests so then at that point, I decided that we needed to try and figure out how do we become safe,” Murray said. “So last week on Thursday I pretty much called everybody in the organization together, parents and kids, and told them that right now we’re going to shut down until I can figure out what we need to do.”
In the name of safety for all involved in the organization, the Colts then responded on Tuesday by offering parents, players and coaches the opportunity to be tested and receive vaccinations, if willing and eligible.
“If you can find out how many people are positive, then that way I feel like we can control it,” Murray said. “Because if we get a positive test, we know that you’ll be gone for this many days compared to not knowing at all and then you still have the unknown here. It’s kind of hard to control it like that so I figure that if people get tested then we can know how to proceed.”
Working with local non-profit organizations Generations Renewed and Frontline, the Colts were provided PCR COVID tests from Pastor Joe Kelley of The Common Ground Movement and Bio Testing Labs and were provided vaccines from Plant City Discount Pharmacy, all at no cost to the community.
“We have all three shots, J&J, Moderna and Phizer,” Meena Kukreja of Plant City Discount Pharmacy said. “So they can come, we can get anybody (vaccinated) in five minutes, in and out. If there is a group of 10 or more, we can go any place and get that done. Our whole motto is to get as many people as we can vaccinated. It’s free of charge to everyone, it’s free of charge given to us from the government, I just want to do my part to get as many people vaccinated as we can. As a pharmacist, I just want to do my part and give my contribution to the community, it’s a time to give back to the community. Our community has done a lot for us and it’s time for every professional to step up.”
In addition to providing testing and vaccines, the Colts have protocols in place for game days again, including safe zones for the teams and mask requirements for players, coaches and members within the organization when moving throughout the complex away from the playing field.
“You must always think about the kids,” Murray said. “That should be the first and foremost thought about what’s safe for them and what’s good for the kids, that was my thought process when I started trying to figure out how we get tested and be proactive.”
While the turnout for the Colts’ event was meager, Murray hopes that their actions can serve as an example for other organizations to be proactive about their handling of COVID as the season gets underway. The Colts are scheduled to play the Greenwood Panthers in Clearwater this coming weekend, but the status of Saturday’s game remains unclear.
For anyone looking to receive their COVID-19 vaccination, visit Plant City Discount Pharmacy at 607 E. Alexander St. You can also contact the pharmacy at 813-703-1500 or plantcitydiscountrx@gmail.com.